The use of umbrellas in general, and in particular use of umbrellas for the sake of shading larger sitting and playing areas is well-known in the art. Such use provides shade and a somewhat cooler and less exposed area to beaming sun rays. However, on hot days in general, and in particular on windless days, heat in the canopied area may still be unpleasant. Therefore different solutions have been proposed to help in removing the warm air that accumulates in the canopy area. Some such solutions provide fans as part of the canopy to enable movement of such warm air.
With the advent of solar cells, some solutions even propose the addition of solar cells to harness the sun's energy for the production of electricity and driving the fans therefrom. This is of particular use when the umbrella is placed in such areas as the beach or other areas where the use of high voltage electricity is not practical or hazardous. The solutions provided in the prior art suffer from various disadvantages, including, but not limited to, insufficient solar cells to accumulate enough energy, exposed fan wings, and limited cooling capabilities.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the deficiencies of the prior art. In particular it would be advantageous if such a solution provided for ample conversion of solar energy to electrical energy, be safe to use, and provided extended cooling capabilities.